There is unquestionable hipster cache in early-stage fandom, scene-topping achieved through claims on a band before they were huge. While there may be some satisfaction to be had in the mode of early adopter, there is something amazing about seeing a band that has come into its own, and been there long enough to get comfortable. So it goes with Deerhoof, a charming four-person noise collective that formed in San Francisco in 1994, and has been quietly building a devoted following ever since.

Deerhoof and fans.

In their headline spot at the MOCAD (a Knight Arts grantee) on Friday, April 25, Deerhoof was in their element as a veteran band—unphased by technical hiccups and turning in a signature performance, by turns playful and scorching, capped with a classic Ramones cover.

Deerhoof: a charming, noisy legend in their own time.

In the role of ingénue opener was the Brooklyn three-piece Celestial Shore; no doubt there are those among the crowd already marking their calendars to say they saw them when. Rocking boy-falsettos over alternating time signatures and infectious pop riffs, Celestial Shore fits nicely in with the kind of category-defiance music that is Deerhoof’s hallmark.

Celestial Shore, making sound waves.

But the real surprise package of the evening was the middle slot, filled by the one-woman combination of stand-up comedy and cold gangsta styling, Queens-based rapper AWKWAFINA. Hailing from Queens, N.Y. and delivering insanely on-point flows that are equal parts feminist screed, off-color wordplay and tight self-produced beats, AWKWAFINA converted a skeptical crowd to devotees in under two minutes.

Awkward stage banter and smooth-as-silk flows.

If you really want to notch some street cred, throw a little of this in your playlist.

MOCAD: 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-6622; www.mocadetroit.org